Fort Worth hosts 48th annual Cowtown Marathon as 29,000 runners tackle tough course for charity

Sunday morning was race day in Fort Worth, where runners hit the starting line for the 48th annual Cowtown Marathon.

More than 29,000 runners took off at 7 a.m. to fanfare and confetti cannons. Depending on whether you were running the half or full marathon, the course runners would get a chance to see all of Fort Worth from the Will Rogers Memorial Center, through the stockyards, and down through the southside and TCU before finishing back at Will Rogers.

The winners said the warmer-than-normal conditions made a challenging course even more difficult.

"Everyone around here knows it's a tough course; it's going to humble you. The conditions today could have been worse, but they could have been a lot better. Pretty heavy air, obviously warm for the season, but I think everyone knew we were going to have to grind today and that's just what the day became for me pretty early on," said Matt Campbell, the men's marathon winner and Dallas resident. 

"You know those hills in the middle are really soul-sucking. It was amazing at about mile 20 to turn out of the wind and have some flat stretches, that really saved me today," said Sadie Smith, who traveled from the St. Louis area to win the women's marathon. 

Despite the challenges, the runners were all supporting a great cause.

"This race supports the calf program. We'll raise over $250,000 from race proceeds to support under-resourced children in different ISDs. We get them shoes and socks, and this is so important because most children have never had a new pair of shoes before," said Macy Hill, Fort Worth City Councilwoman for District 7 and President of the Cowtown Marathon Board.